GOP Foreign Policy Experts Cool On Palin

Politico: The GOP Foreign Policy Establishment's Response To Sarah Palin's V.P. Nomination Has Been Noticeably Tepid

(The Politico)  This story was written by David Paul Kuhn.

In state after state, rally after rally, Sarah Palin is generating record levels of enthusiasm among the Republican base. Crowds chant her name, congressional candidates cite her in their ads and there are numerous reports of a surge in grass roots volunteers for the McCain campaign.

The acclaim for the vice-presidential nominee is all but deafening within the GOP, except in one small but influential corner: the party’s foreign policy establishment. Among that mandarin class, the response to Palin’s nomination has been underwhelming, marked by distinctly faint praise or flat out silence.

Consider Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who currently serves as the committee’s top-ranking Republican.

The day Sen. Joe Biden was announced as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, Lugar, while en route to Tbilisi, Georgia, quickly issued a statement praising the choice.

"I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate,” he said. “I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy.”

To date, Lugar has been silent regarding Palin.

In a CNN interview over the weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined to defend Palin’s foreign policy credentials when asked whether Palin has “enough experience to handle the kinds of things that you need to handle?”

Rice replied: “These are decisions that Senator McCain has made. I have great confidence in him. I’m not going to get involved in this political campaign. As secretary of state, I don’t do that. But I thought her speech was wonderful.”

While none have come out and publicly questioned the Alaska governor's level of experience in foreign affairs, few have been willing to make the case that Palin is well-versed in the field.

John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and conservative hawk on foreign affairs, segued from questions of Palin’s inexperience to McCain’s experience.

“You want your strength on national security at the top of the ticket,” Bolton told Politico at the Republican convention in St. Paul. “I feel very comfortable with her as a vice presidential nominee, how it plays politically beyond that I don’t know.

“As somebody who spent a good part of his professional career on foreign policy matters I was delighted by her nomination,” he later said. “What you have to look for is extensive executive experience.”

Last week, prior to Palin’s acceptance speech, former Secretary of the Navy and former Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) chose to accentuate the positive.

He told the Richmond Times Dispatch that Palin is “intelligent, she has a lot of tenacity, she is a risk taker and she is plenty energetic,” but he added “only time will tell” if Palin is the smart choice for McCain.

A McCain policy adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged hearing from several worried GOP veterans immediately after Palin’s selection.

“To a lot of people it was a surprise choice so there was caution,” the adviser said early last week. “There was a pause because they didn’t know her. My own personal view is I’m feeling more and more enthusiastic and I think they will too.”

Robert Kagan, a foreign policy advisor to McCain, derided criticisms of Palin as elitist.

“I don’t take this elite foreign policy view that only this anointed class knows everything about the world," he said. "I’m not generally impressed that they are better judges of American foreign policy experience than those who have Palin’s experience.”

One top conservative freign policy wonk who declined to be named said he believed some of the questions surrounding Palin’s experience are sexist.

“I don’t see why Tim Pawlenty has any greater knowledge of foreign policy and nobody would have raised a peep about him,” he said

Max Boot, a Council on Foreign Relations fellow who also advises the McCain campaign, said that upon hearing McCain had tapped Palin,“like most people, I don’t think I had any impression at all.

Boot said he soon decided that “she was a great way for McCain to generate excitement and interest in his campaign, one day after the Democratic convention.”

“I don’t know what her foreign policy views are. I’m not sure how important that is,” Boot continued. “No one thinks that a McCain administration would be guided by the foreign policy of a vice president. The office of the vice president is not set up to be a second national security advisor or secretary of state.

“The lesson of the last eight years is that we had a president who was not that well versed on foreign affairs coming into office and we had a vice president who was supposed to make up for that deficiency,” Boot added. “It seems to me the Obama campaign is trying to establish the Bush model."

[misha128-2009]

There was also a point made that Gov Palin is the first VP candidate in the last 30 or so years that had never met with a foreign leader before being nominated. That even includes Dan Quayle.

Posted by misha128 at 11:49 PM : Sep 11, 2008

I guess that was the whole point of BO''''s recent tour to Europe, etc. He is so transparent! ...

Posted by joule3 at 04:00 AM

Senator Obama met with world leaders before his recent trip overseas.

[misha128-2009]

Pretty much a softball question in my mind asking about the Bush Doctrine that is the administration''''''''s position and justification for the War in Iraq a subject on which any Vice President should be knowledgeable.

A question about the Powell Doctrine, which I also consider important, might have been tough (or tougher), especially if coupled with ae question like: -- How would the early missteps in the Iraq war have been altered if the principles of the Powell doctrine had been applied more effectively?

One could argue with adequate forces as defined by the Powell Doctrine all the following were possible:

Securing and destroying ammunition caches weakening the insurgency militarily, before it started

Sealing the borders that Al Qaeda and the foreign fighters would never have entered Iraq as effectively

Curtailing black market operations in oil and the benefits of insurgent financing

All would have lessened or eliminated the capability for sustained insurgent operations that plagued Iraq.

Posted by misha128 at 09:24 AM : Sep 12, 2008

... You can''''t seal a border in the mountains when you have hundreds of miles where someone can hardly walk. ...

Posted by hbevis at 10:30 AM

"Sealing the borders that Al Qaeda and the foreign fighters would never have entered Iraq as effectively"

Notice the relative nature of effectively and not absolute requirement of the seal -- use of predators to detect and intercept, etc. and notice also IRAQ and not AFGHANISTAN.

[mart7lin]

My guess is that Charlie Gibson is a republican. That is why the McCain handlers picked him for the very first interview of Palin. He was in a tough position because no what he did he would draw fire from the left or the right.

[jmmalone2]

If You were The Boss... which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts,
stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high
prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage
crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually
critical election year.

Let''s look at the educational background of the
candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a
specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna *** Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in
political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899
(meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of
his class)


Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most
influential nation in the world?

[jamjholmes]

U sheep fools who are arguing between McInsane and O''''bama just don''''t get it. They both are the same, and neither represents the citizens, they represent the corporations and central bank who run this country. The real issues like Foreign Policy, the National Debt, Privacy, and the Federal Reserve(not elected or federal) are the most important issues and they will not talk about them because nothing will change with either of the tools running. GG sheep. Learn up plz.

[neenga]

"As for me any man that needs to use a hyphen before American is not a true American."

Not sure you''re aware of this, funzie50, but the only "true" Americans are Native Americans. The rest of the U.S. population is from "somewhere else." So don''t be so proud of your quasi-American self.

[neenga]

xliberalcomi, what is with all this "%u201" gibberish in your postings?

[neenga]

jamnsnyth, you have said it all beautifully!

[jamnsnyth]

I used to really respect Sen. McCain because he seemed to stand for something. But now, seeing how he is running a very dirty and divisive campaign, I no longer feel the way I once did. In my opinion, his campaign is doing everything to keep the American people off the real issues this race should be about. I want to hear about the economy, the national debt, the housing crisis etc. not a bunch of lies and distortions about Obama or about who said what about Palin. I%u2019m sick and tired of hearing all this stuff that doesn%u2019t really matter. If this election is decided on anything besides the issues and which candidate has the best vision for our country, then we will have failed our children who will inherit our mess. In 20 years, will the people in this country look back and wonder why we didn%u2019t address the issues in this campaign and why we were distracted by all the whining over who said what about whoever. Give me a Break!

[hbevis]

Hey people, nobody reads the long posts.

Posted by amer_icon at 10:43 AM : Sep 12, 2008

A lot of the time the long post are the only ones that make sense. These back- biting post make no sense a lot of the time.

[hbevis]

... I''''''''''''''''d like to see Charlie Gibson interview Obama & use the same attitude & hard hitting style, ...

Posted by xliberalcomi at 09:04 AM

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%. CHARLIE GIBSON IS NOTHING BUT A LIBERAL THAT GETS HIS KICKS OUT OF S.C.R.E.W.I.N.G. WITH PEOPLES HEADS. PALIN IS AS OR MORE Qualified THAN obama TO DO ANYTHING. obama IS NOTHING BUT A WOLF IN SHEEP''''S CLOTHING THAT IS POWER HUNGRY AND WILL ALMOST DESTROY THIS COUNTRY. HE HAS DONE NOTHING IN HIS YEARS IN GOVERNMENT BUT VOTE FOR THE MOST LIBERAL THINGS THAT COME ALONG.

AT LEAST PALIN HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH HER PEOPLE. SHE HAS AT LEAST AN 80% APPROVAL RATING WITH THE ALASKAN PEOPLE. THESE LIBERAL PEOPLE CAN''''T STAND THE FACT THAT SHE IS AT LEAST AS SMART AS THEY ARE. SHE IS REALLY SMARTER THAN THEY ARE... :-)

Posted by hbevis at 10:41 AM : Sep 12, 2008

[hbevis]

... I''''''''d like to see Charlie Gibson interview Obama & use the same attitude & hard hitting style, ...

Posted by xliberalcomi at 09:04 AM

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%. CHARLIE GIBSON IS NOTHING BUT A LIBERAL THAT GETS HIS KICKS OUT OF *** WITH PEOPLES HEADS. PALIN IS AS OR MORE Qualified THAN obama TO DO ANYTHING. obama IS NOTHING BUT A WOLF IN SHEEP''S CLOTHING THAT IS POWER HUNGRY AND WILL ALMOST DESTROY THIS COUNTRY. HE HAS DONE NOTHING IN HIS YEARS IN GOVERNMENT BUT VOTE FOR THE MOST LIBERAL THINGS THAT COME ALONG.

AT LEAST PALIN HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH HER PEOPLE. SHE HAS AT LEAST AN 80% APPROVAL RATING WITH THE ALASKAN PEOPLE. THESE LIBERAL PEOPLE CAN''T STAND THE FACT THAT SHE IS AT LEAST AS SMART AS THEY ARE. SHE IS REALLY SMARTER THAN THEY ARE... :-)

[hbevis]

Pretty much a softball question in my mind asking about the Bush Doctrine that is the administration''''s position and justification for the War in Iraq a subject on which any Vice President should be knowledgeable.

A question about the Powell Doctrine, which I also consider important, might have been tough (or tougher), especially if coupled with ae question like: -- How would the early missteps in the Iraq war have been altered if the principles of the Powell doctrine had been applied more effetively?

One could argue with adequate forces as defined by the Powell Doctrine all the following were possible:

Securing and destroying ammunition caches weakening the insurgency militarily, before it started

Sealing the borders that Al Qaeda and the foreign fighters would never have entered Iraq as effectively

Curtailing black market operations in oil and the benefits of insurgent financing

All would have lessened or eliminated the capability for sustained insurgent operations that plagued Iraq.

Posted by misha128 at 09:24 AM : Sep 12, 2008

This is talk about something that you know nothing about. The things that you bring up are all but impossible to do in those countries. You can''t seal a border in the mountains when you have hundreds of miles where someone can hardly walk. These people are as tough as they come, and they just take this kind of terrain in stride.

[misha128-2009]

... I''''d like to see Charlie Gibson interview Obama & use the same attitude & hard hitting style, ...

Posted by xliberalcomi at 09:04 AM

Pretty much a softball question in my mind asking about the Bush Doctrine that is the administration''s position and justification for the War in Iraq a subject on which any Vice President should be knowledgeable.

A question about the Powell Doctrine, which I also consider important, might have been tough (or tougher), especially if coupled with ae question like: -- How would the early missteps in the Iraq war have been altered if the principles of the Powell doctrine had been applied more effetively?

One could argue with adequate forces as defined by the Powell Doctrine all the following were possible:

Securing and destroying ammunition caches weakening the insurgency militarily, before it started

Sealing the borders that Al Qaeda and the foreign fighters would never have entered Iraq as effectively

Curtailing black market operations in oil and the benefits of insurgent financing

All would have lessened or eliminated the capability for sustained insurgent operations that plagued Iraq.

[hokuto1]

Juan Cole writes of the interview:

"Palin revealed herself in the Charlie Gibson interview on ABC to be nervous,uninformed, green and generally not ready for prime time. The interview was full of stock phrases she was made to memorize, and which she repeated over and over again when stumped. She knows nothing about how Iran is run, or about Pakistan, or about al-Qaeda, and even is ignorant of the Bush doctrine of preemptive warfare. It was a shockingly bad performance.

She had the hubris to suggest that her lack of knowledge and experience is a virtue. Why Americans, practical people, would fall for this line is beyond me. Would you want your car to be worked on by an inexperienced and ignorant mechanic? Would you want a plumber messing around with your pipes who did not know his way around wrenches?

I''m tired of her trumpeting being from a small town as if that is qualification for high office. It isn''t where you are from that matters. [edited for length]. My background isn''t so different from hers. But Palin futzed around at this campus and that, at one point switching from the University of Hawaii because the campus was on the rainy side of Oahu. How frivolous! She isn''t well educated and doesn''t appear to have thought it was important to become so. She has never shown any interest in the world at large, which she now wants to run. She is clearly ambitious, but nothing is more dangerous than ambition with no qualifications."

[xliberalcomi]

I think the questions asked were fair, but I don''t think we would have asked the same questions of Obama. Every time someone, except Fox News meets with Obama, they ask hiim what is favorite color is and Palin and McCain the tough questions. There is clearly a leftward slant in the media, but I think it proves that they''re afraid to ask Obama the tough questions because he simply cannot answer them. I think we need a REAL PERSON on our side who faces the same issues as most americans and Sarah Palin is that person.

[xliberalcomi]

The prime time 20/20 presentation tonight is edited. I hear that the unedited version of the interview is more revealing and fairer. Why in the world would you risk bias by editing this? Even O''Reilly didn''t edit his Obama interview. Isn''t that what we need to see?

[omega40]

What i find Hillarious is that Palin is running for Vice President, But Obama and the Obama Media are acting like she is running for president. I know you libs are going to say Mccain is old. But look at McCains Genes, his mother is near a 100. My Grandfather lived to be 97. On the other hand what damage has Obama done to himself smoking. He is good candidate for Lung cancer. I dont hear the media talking about that.

Posted by xliberalcomi

Has his mother had Melanoma 3 times?

[xliberalcomi]

What i find Hillarious is that Palin is running for Vice President, But Obama and the Obama Media are acting like she is running for president. I know you libs are going to say Mccain is old. But look at McCains Genes, his mother is near a 100. My Grandfather lived to be 97. On the other hand what damage has Obama done to himself smoking. He is good candidate for Lung cancer. I dont hear the media talking about that.

[misha128-2009]

She%u2019s only met as many world leaders as most governors have ...

Posted by xliberalcomi at 08:51 AM

My governor negotiates with foreign leaders including Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers. Agricultural and industrial states both are negotiating for access to foreign markets for their state''s products. Reports are Gov Palin has met with NONE -- maybe considerably less than the governors of most states. Even Senators meet with more foreign leaders on CODELs than Gov Palin.